Human Factors Society Research Articles

Ergonomics Evaluation an Origin and Overview - Copy

ABSTRACT Ergonomics is the study of human abilities and characteristics which affect the design of equipment, systems, and jobs. The terms ergonomics and human factors can be used interchangeably. "Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of the interactions among human and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.“Origin - The name ergonomics officially proposed at a 1949 meeting of the British Admiralty (July 12), by Prof. Hugh Murrell. The name 'Ergonomics' officially accepted in 1950. The name Ergonomics was derived from the Greek words: Ergon - work; Nomos - natural law. First use of the word actually can be traced to a series of four articles written by Prof. Wojciech Jastrzebowski in Poland in 1857.Britain - The Ergonomic Society was formed in 1952 with people from psychology, biology, physiology, and design.United States - The Human Factors Society was formed in 1957. In the US "human factors engineering" was emphasized by the US military with concentration on human engineering and engineering psychology. US efforts also focused on the "role" of an individual within a complex system. Keywords ;

Occupational Macroergonomics: Principles, Scope, Value, and Methods

This year marks the 35th anniversary of Hal Hendrick's (1980) report to the US Human Factors Society, considered by some as the origin of macroergonomics as a formal subdiscipline of human factors/...

Capture of shrinking targets with realistic shrink patterns

Previous research [Hoffmann, E. R. 2011. “Capture of Shrinking Targets.” Ergonomics 54 (6): 519–530] reported experiments for capture of shrinking targets where the target decreased in size at a uniform rate. This work extended this research for targets having a shrink-size versus time pattern that of an aircraft receding from an observer. In Experiment 1, the time to capture the target in this case was well correlated in terms of Fitts' index of difficulty, measured at the time of capture of the target, a result that is in agreement with the ‘balanced’ model of Johnson and Hart [Johnson, W. W., and Hart, S. G. 1987. “Step Tracking Shrinking Targets.” Proceedings of the human factors society 31st annual meeting, New York City, October 1987, 248–252]. Experiment 2 measured the probability of target capture for varying initial target sizes and target shrink rates constant, defined as the time for the target to shrink to half its initial size. Data of shrink time constant for 50% probability of capture were related to initial target size but did not greatly affect target capture as the rate of target shrinking decreased rapidly with time.

TIMELINESAn exciting interface foray into early digital music

This is Richard Pew's second Timelines contribution. He describes twists and turns in designing a groundbreaking digital synthesizer---inspired by Stevie Wonder and built by Ray Kurzweil. Kurzweil is the inventor also known for pioneering work in optical character recognition (OCR), speech technologies, and predictions that we are bearing down on a technological singularity. Pew was program chair for the first official CHI Conference in 1983 and participated on three panels at CHI'86. He has been president of the Human Factors Society and was the first chair of the National Research Council Committee on Human Factors.---Jonathan Grudin

Macroergonomics: Work System Analysis and Design

Our goal was to briefly describe how macroergonomics was developed to fill a void in human factors and ergonomics. A study commissioned by the Human Factors Society in 1978 resulted in the formalization of a new subdiscipline of human factors, called organizational design and management, which eventually was coined macroergonomics. Differentiators of macroergonomics are presented along with methods adapted from other domains as well as unique methods. Based on laboratory and field studies conducted at multiple universities, government facilities, and industries, work system factors can be manipulated in the laboratory and studied in the field successfully. Also, case studies in academia, industry, and government demonstrate 60% to 90% performance impact and positive qualitative changes such as culture change. Macroergonomics offers a perspective as well as methods and tools for more successful human factors and ergonomics design, development, intervention, and implementation. Human factors engineers or psychologists and ergonomists can use the perspective of macroergonomics to achieve better results or can expand their involvement of macroergonomics through the use of methods and tools.

Human Factors and Systems Engineering Approach to Patient Safety for Radiotherapy

The traditional approach to solving patient safety problems in healthcare is to blame the last person to touch the patient. But since the publication of To Err is Human, the call has been instead to use human factors and systems engineering methods and principles to solve patient safety problems. However, an understanding of the human factors and systems engineering is lacking, and confusion remains about what it means to apply their principles. This paper provides a primer on them and their applications to patient safety.

An unlikely HCI frontier

This inaugurates a series of guest-authored Timelines columns. Richard Pew's research focus has been in human factors. He was the program chair for the first official CHI Conference in 1983 and participated on three panels at CHI'86. He was president of the Human Factors Society and the first chair of the National Research Council Committee on Human Factors. He wrote the HCI history chapter for the first edition of the Erlbaum Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, edited by Julie Jacko and Andrew Sears. In this column he describes an innovative project in the dynamic late 1970s that brought Xerox PARC technology to a government bureaucracy.---Jonathan Grudin, Timelines editor

Empirical Measurement of Human Factors Research Themes

This study describes a content analysis of research themes of papers presented at the annual meetings of the Human Factors Society (HFS) during 1969–1985. HF research during this period was very wide ranging, but except for new technology (e.g., space vehicles and computers), largely a continuation of interests developed by a predecessor discipline, psychology.

Transitioning from Student to Professional: What's in your Future?

Welcome to the fifth annual Human Factors Society Career panel. This year's panel for the advanced graduate student, or for the individual contemplating a career change focuses on 1) Preparing for a career, 2) Transitioning from being a student to being a professional and 3) Approaching work in a new profession. In the written version of this paper each panelist addressed six questions reflecting on their experiences as job seekers and new employees and, in most cases, as individuals who have been very involved with hiring and or providing extensive career advise to graduate students. At the HFES meeting panel session, the entire panel will focus on answering questions from the audience.

Studies in the History of Human Factors Ergonomics

This is continuation of studies of the history and characteristics of human factors ergonomics (HFE). Earlier studies had analyzed the annual meeting programs of the Human Factors Society from 1959 to 1970 and empirical papers (those that tested subjects) that were published in Human Factors and in the Proceedings of the annual meetings of the Society. Every discipline has a history, and it is important to examine that history in terms of what its professionals publish and consider, because this enables one to see how and in which direction the discipline is moving. A historical analysis serves as a sort of feedback, if one thinks of the discipline as a special type of conceptual system.

History and Characteristics of Human Factors Research

As a sequel to a study which analyzed the annual meetings of the Human Factors Society (HFS) during the period 1959–1972 (Meister, 1995), the following is a study of the characteristics of Human Factors/Ergonomics (HF/E) research as these have changed over the years 1965–1994.

A compensatory rest break system for VDT operators : R. A. Henning, G. V. Kissel, and D. C. Maynard. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 37th Annual Meeting, Oct. 11–15, 1993 Seatle, WA, Acc. #B-93-0157; Call # 620.82 P; 2, 905–909.

A compensatory rest break system for VDT operators : R. A. Henning, G. V. Kissel, and D. C. Maynard. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 37th Annual Meeting, Oct. 11–15, 1993 Seatle, WA, Acc. #B-93-0157; Call # 620.82 P; 2, 905–909.

Update on the HCI Education Survey

The HCI Education Survey was originally designed to collect and maintain a databse of information on courses, faculty and programs that focus on Human Computer Interaction in higher education. The database was intended to provide prospective students (particularly graduate students) information about educational opportunities, and secondarily, to provide HCI educators information about other HCI educators. The survey also was designed to be accessed and updated in electronic form. It was based upon a review of other surveys (Ferguson, 1989; Human Factors Society, 1991; Mantei & Smelcer, 1984; Software Engineering Institute, 1991) and field-testing.

The Integration of Ergonomics in a Safety Improvement Program: Design and Implementation of an Ergonomics Initiative

When safety performance is characterized by high levels of strains, sprains and cumulative trauma injuries the need for ergonomics is clearly indicated. In addition, when workmanship defects and worker compensation costs are at an unacceptable rate the need for accelerated action is evident. When there is limited ergonomics orientation in a particular company, ergonomics cannot be prescribed as a cure-all. The program must enhance overall company safety, quality and productivity objectives. This paper describes an ergonomics-oriented safety improvement program based on these conditions, a benchmarking effort and the review of Human Factors Society proceedings and other ergonomics literature. The highlights of the program are participatory ergonomics, in-house ergonomic expertise development and integration with other company goals, medical management and other safety programs. Since the company size is much larger than most company programs and the need for accelerated improvement is required, a quick-fix initiation is recommended. This is accompanied by a development of long range medical management and prevention procedures. The initial phases of the program are underway and have been met with enthusiasm and an attitude that this involvement approach makes good sense. It is anticipated that the description of the development and initiation of this ergonomic program will provide beneficial interchange of professional experiences.

Driving habits of the elderly — A survey : R.R. Bishu, B. Foster, P.T. McCoy. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 35th Annual Meeting, Sept. 2–6, 1991, San Francisco, CA [Book], Vol. 2, pp. 1134–1138.

Driving habits of the elderly — A survey : R.R. Bishu, B. Foster, P.T. McCoy. Proceedings of the Human Factors Society, 35th Annual Meeting, Sept. 2–6, 1991, San Francisco, CA [Book], Vol. 2, pp. 1134–1138.

Designing and operating safer highways for older drivers: present and future research issues : Mast, TVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 167–171 (2 refs)

Designing and operating safer highways for older drivers: present and future research issues : Mast, TVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 167–171 (2 refs)

Spatial orientation and wayfinding in airport passenger terminals: implications for environmental design : Andre, A D and Koonce, J MVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 561–565 (11 refs)

Spatial orientation and wayfinding in airport passenger terminals: implications for environmental design : Andre, A D and Koonce, J MVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 561–565 (11 refs)

Fingertip forces while using three different keyboards : Rempel, D, Gerson, J, Armstrong, T, Foulke, J and Martin, BVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1, (1991) pp 253–255 (5 refs)

Fingertip forces while using three different keyboards : Rempel, D, Gerson, J, Armstrong, T, Foulke, J and Martin, BVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1, (1991) pp 253–255 (5 refs)

Adoption of ATM technology by elderly users : Smither, J A A, Braun, C C and Smither, R DVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 177–179 (9 refs)

Adoption of ATM technology by elderly users : Smither, J A A, Braun, C C and Smither, R DVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting. San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 177–179 (9 refs)

Physiological models and guidelines for the design of high frequency shoulder lifting tasks : Asfour, S S, Akcin, M, Tritar, M and Genaidy, A MVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 814–817 (8 refs)

Physiological models and guidelines for the design of high frequency shoulder lifting tasks : Asfour, S S, Akcin, M, Tritar, M and Genaidy, A MVisions. Proc Human Factors Society 35th Annual Meeting San Francisco, California, 2–6 September 1991. The Human Factors Society, Santa Monica, California, Vol 1 (1991) pp 814–817 (8 refs)